Method of fabricating product of activated carbon supporting silver

ABSTRACT

A method of fabricating a product of activated carbon fiber supporting silver has the steps of: a) Impregnate activated carbon fibers in a silver acetate solution under a vacuum condition for a predetermined time to deposit silver on surfaces of the activated carbon fibers via a chemical reaction. And then, dry the activated carbon fibers to remove water therein. b) Heat the activated carbon fibers in a stove filled with protective gas to break the silver on the activated carbon fibers into very fine grains, and c) wash the activated carbon fibers to remove redundant sliver from the surfaces of the activated carbon fibers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates generally to a method of fabricating the product of activated carbon fiber supporting silver, which the activated carbon fibers are impregnated in a silver compound solution to deposit the silver on the surfaces of the activated carbon fibers and the product thereof has a superior antibacterial property.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] In the present industry, industrial wastewater and home wastewater are increased. Activated carbon has been broadly applied to the treatment of wastewater and drink water for a long time. The carbon material has a well property of bioaffinity to adsorb bacteria and microorganisms. But the activated carbon becomes another pollutant today, as shown in FIG. 2.

[0005] Activated carbon fibers are a new adsorbent with a superior performance. The activated carbon fibers, the granulated activated carbon and the powdered activated carbon are the carbon materials with a great amount of pores. They are superior in adsorbent property, antibiotic resistance, hydrophobic property, electron supply and specific surface area and so on. The main differences between the activated carbon fiber and the granulated activated carbon are molecule structure, appearance and surface pores' structure. To compare with the conventional activated carbon, the activated carbon fiber has a less diffusive resistance in adsorption and in separation and can be fabricated into various forms, such as felt or cloth, in second process. The activated carbon fiber has a greater specific surface area and adsorption efficiency than the granulated activated carbon.

[0006] To form silver on the activated carbon fibers for the antibacterial property, one had provided silver acetate solution mixed with pitch, and then taking the spinning process and stabilization, and then taking activation under 900° C. via vapor. It gets activated carbon fibers with silver of 0.03% by weight. In aforesaid method, it still has to improve the spinning process and activation to fabricate the activated carbon fibers supporting silver with a greater specific surface area.

[0007] Another one had provided the pitch base activated carbon fibers impregnated in a monounsaturated silver acetate solution for twelve hours, and then takes the high temperature degration process in nitrogen gas under 420° C. for 30 minutes to get the pitch base activated carbon fibers supporting silver. This method still has drawbacks of how to average the silver distribution and how to precipitate silver from water.

[0008] The present inventor creates a method to overcome aforesaid drawbacks and to fabricate activated carbon with antibacterial property. In the result of washing test, the silver leachability is less than 50 ppb. It conforms to US drink water standard.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a method of fabricating a product of activated carbon fibers supporting silver, in which the activated carbon fibers are impregnated in a silver acetate solution for a predetermined time and in a vacuum condition to deposit silver on surfaces of the activated carbon fibers via a chemical reaction. The activated carbon fibers with silver is processed with high temperature degration to change the property of the silver that the sliver is broken into very fine grains and attached on the surfaces of the activated carbon fiber. Redundant silver of the activated carbon fibers, and then, is removed via a washing process to form the activated carbon fibers supporting silver of the present invention. The activated carbon fibers adsorb bacteria and the silver kills them to provide the activated carbon fibers with a superior performance of antibacterial property.

[0010] According to the objectives of the present invention, a method of fabricating a product of activated carbon supporting silver comprises the steps of:

[0011] a) Impregnate Activated Carbon Fibers in a Silver Acetate Solution:

[0012] The activated carbon fibers are impregnated in the silver acetate solution in a vacuum condition for 1 minute to 720 minutes. Silver is deposited on surfaces of the activated carbon fibers via a chemical reaction. And then, dry the activated carbon fibers to remove water.

[0013] b) High Temperature Degration Process:

[0014] Heat the activated carbon fibers with silver to a predetermined temperature in a range between 120° C. and 450° C. for 5 minutes to 120 minutes. The silver on the surfaces of the activated carbon fibers is broken into very fine grains.

[0015] c) Washing Process:

[0016] Wash the activated carbon fibers with silver for 1 minute to 600 hours to remove redundant sliver from the surfaces of the activated carbon fibers. And then, dry the activated carbon fibers with silver to complete the product of the activated carbon fibers supporting silver.

[0017] The product of the activated carbon fibers supporting silver, which the silver content is greater than 0.001 wt % and the BET specific surface area thereof is greater than 600 m²/g. The carbon content is greater than 60% by weight and the density thereof is greater than 1.8 g/m³. The silver leachability of the present invention is less than 50 ppb after washing. It conforms to the US drink water standard. For the antibacterial property test, which applies membrane filter procedure (Taiwan official standard test NIEA E202.51B of Environmental Protection Administration), for E. coli and pseudomonas aeruginosa. The filtering property of the activated carbon fibers supporting silver cloth of the present invention is greater than 80% and the antibacterial property thereof is 100%.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018]FIG. 1 is a flow chart of the method of the present invention;

[0019]FIG. 2 shows a SEM picture of the conventional activated carbon fibers, in which E. coli are adsorbed on the fibers in a multi-layer condition;

[0020]FIG. 3 shows a SEM picture of the conventional activated carbon fibers, in which pseudomonas aeruginosa are adsorbed on the surfaces of the fibers via fine tissues;

[0021]FIG. 4 shows a SEM picture of the product of the example four of the present invention, in which no E. coli is found on the fibers, and

[0022]FIG. 5 shows a SEM picture of the product of the example six of the present invention, in which it is hard to find a complete pseudomonas aeruginosa on the fibers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0023] As shown in FIG. 1, a method of fabricating a product of activated carbon supporting silver comprises the steps of:

[0024] a) Impregnate Activated Carbon Fibers in a Silver Acetate Solution:

[0025] The activated carbon fibers are impregnated in the silver acetate solution with various concentrations under a vacuum condition for 1 minute to 720 minutes. The pH value is between 3 and 8. Silver is deposited on surfaces of the activated carbon fibers via a chemical reaction. And then, dry the activated carbon fibers to remove water.

[0026] b) High Temperature Degration Process:

[0027] Put the activated carbon fibers with silver in a stove filled with a protective gas to heat them to a predetermined temperature between 120° C. and 450° C. for 5 minutes to 120 minutes. The silver on the surfaces of the activated carbon fibers is broken into very fine grains.

[0028] c) Washing Process:

[0029] Wash the activated carbon fibers supporting silver after high temperature degration for 1 minute to 600 hours to remove redundant sliver from the surfaces of the activated carbon fibers. And then, dry the activated carbon fibers with silver to complete the product of the activated carbon fibers supporting silver.

[0030] The antibacterial property test takes E. coli CCRC 14895 and pseudomonas aeruginosa 11846 to be the tested bacteria. The product of activated carbon fibers supporting silver of the present invention is tested for its filtering property and antibacterial property. The test of E. coli applies the membrane filter procedure (standard test of NIEA E202.51B) and the test of pseudomonas aeruginosa applies standard test of NIEA E204.51B. The test unit is Chi-Mei Entech Co.Ltd (Taiwan registered test unit No. 025).

[0031] 1) Filtering Property:

[0032] Take pre-filtered solutions (PFS) of E. coli and pseudomonas aeruginosa with various concentrations and filter them by the conventional activated carbon fibers cloth and a cloth of the activated carbon fibers supporting silver of the present invention. The solution after filtered is called filtered solution (FS). The filtering property is calculated by the difference of the numbers of bacteria in the pre-filtered solution and in the filtered solution. $\text{Filtering~~property} = {\frac{\begin{matrix} {\left. {\text{(bacteria~~numbers~~in}\quad {PFS}} \right) -} \\ \left. {\text{(bacteria~~numbers~~in}\quad {FS}} \right) \end{matrix}}{\left. {\text{(bacteria~~numbers~~in}\quad {PFS}} \right)} \times 100\%}$

[0033] 2) Antibacterial Property:

[0034] The antibacterial property is calculated from the difference of bacteria in the pre-filtered solution (PFS) and in the washed solution (WS), which the filtered solutions of activated carbon fibers and activated carbon fibers supporting silver are sealed, impregnated and washed in 100 ml sterile water for 24 hours. $\text{Filtering~~property} = {\frac{\begin{matrix} {\left. {\text{(bacteria~~numbers~~in}\quad {PFS}} \right) -} \\ \left. {\text{(bacteria~~numbers~~in}\quad {WS}} \right) \end{matrix}}{\left. {\text{(bacteria~~numbers~~in}\quad {PFS}} \right)} \times 100\%}$

[0035] Except for the tests above, we further take some extra tests and analysis and they are described hereunder:

[0036] 1) Carbon Elemental Analysis:

[0037] Equipment: F002-Heraeus CNS-O-Rapid Element Analyzer

[0038] Method: Take 3 mg to 4 mg sample and send it to a combustion chamber filled with 950° C. pure oxygen via a carrier gas, such as helium, to be heated for 2 minutes. The sample is decomposed into CO₂, H₂O, N₂ and NO_(x). And then, NO_(x) is reduced to N₂ by pure copper and is separated by GC-column. The gas is sensed by a sensor and is analyzed by computer to calculate the quantities of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.

[0039] 2) Density Test:

[0040] Equipment: Accupyc 1330 Pynometer Density Meter

[0041] Method: Put the dried sample into the container of the density meter and measure the weight thereof. Inflect high pressure helium into the concentration meter and wait for equilibrium. The average density of the sample is calculated by idea gas equation (PV=nRT).

[0042] 3) Silver Content Test (Apply Atomic Absorption Sectrophotometry, AA):

[0043]

[0044] Equipment: HITACHI Polarized Zeeman Atomic Absorption Sectrophotometry, Z800 system.

[0045] Method:

[0046] (1) Nitrified and abstraction of silver: Ash 4 g to 5 g ACF-Ag sample in 800° C. air for 6hours and impregnate the ash in the 50 ml, 10% HNO₃ solution.

[0047] (2) Prepare the standard solution of silver ions to make a calibration curve.

[0048] (3) Sense the silver content by a flame-type of atomic absorption sectrophotometry. The combustion-supporting gas is acetylene gas and the flue is air.

[0049] 4) Specific surface test (BET):

[0050] Equipment: Micromeritics Flowsorb II 2300

[0051] Method: The sample is heated to 250° C. and degassed, and then, is filled with adsorption gas (nitrogen gas, the flow rate: 4.6 cm³/min). The temperature is kept at 77K and the pressure is kept at 760 mm-Hg.

[0052] We give eight examples and two compared examples hereunder to describe the detail of the present invention:

EXAMPLE 1

[0053] Material: Polyacrylonitrile base activated carbon fiber cloth

[0054] Properties:

[0055] Weight: 70 g/m², density of knit: 16 tows per inch

[0056] BET specific surface area: 1630 m²/g

[0057] Density: 2.09 g/ml

[0058] Carbon content: 85 wt %

[0059] Sliver content: 0 wt %

[0060] Method of Fabrication:

[0061] a) Impregnation in Silver Acetate Solution:

[0062] The activated carbon fibers, under a vacuum condition, are impregnated in a silver acetate solution with a concentration of 0.1 mol/L and a pH value of 3.8 for five hours to deposit the silver on the surfaces of the activated carbon fibers via chemical reaction. And then, the activated carbon fibers are dried to remove water.

[0063] b) High Temperature Degration Process:

[0064] Heat the activated carbon fibers in a stove filled with nitrogen under 400° C. for 90 minutes. The silver on the activated carbon fibers is broken into very fine grains.

[0065] After the processes, the properties of the activated carbon fibers are listed hereunder:

[0066] BET specific surface area: 1220 m²/g

[0067] Density: 2.13 g/ml

[0068] Carbon content: 64 wt %

[0069] Sliver content: 12.5 wt %

[0070] The activated carbon fibers is tested by aforesaid tests and its properties are:

[0071] For E. coli, the filtering property is 100% and the antibacterial property is 100%.

[0072] For pseudomonas aeruginosa, the filtering property is 100% and the antibacterial property is 100%.

EXAMPLE 2

[0073] Material: same as the material of Example 1

[0074] Method of Fabrication:

[0075] a) Impregnation in Silver Acetate Solution:

[0076] The activated carbon fibers, under a vacuum condition, are impregnated in a silver acetate solution with a concentration of 0.1 mol/L for five hours to deposit the silver on the surfaces of the activated carbon fibers via chemical reaction. And then, the activated carbon fibers are dried to remove water.

[0077] b) High Temperature Degration Process:

[0078] Heat the activated carbon fibers in a stove filled with nitrogen under 400° C. for 90 minutes. The silver on the activated carbon fibers is broken into very fine grains.

[0079] c) Washing Process:

[0080] Wash the activated carbon fibers in a flow of water (flow rate: 4.5 L/min) for 120 hours to remove redundant sliver from the surfaces of the activated carbon fibers. And then, dry the activated carbon fibers with silver to complete the product of the activated carbon fibers supporting silver.

[0081] After the processes, the properties of the activated carbon fibers are listed hereunder:

[0082] BET specific surface area: 1220 m²/g

[0083] Density: 2.13 g/ml

[0084] Sliver content: 0.03 wt %

[0085] The activated carbon fibers is tested by aforesaid tests and its properties are:

[0086] For E. coli, the filtering property is 82% and the antibacterial property is 100%.

Example 3

[0087] Material: same as the material of Example 1

[0088] Method of fabrication: same as the method of Example 2, except that the washing time is prolonged to ten days.

[0089] After the processes, the properties of the activated carbon fibers are listed hereunder:

[0090] BET specific surface area: 1220 m²/g

[0091] Density: 2.13 g/ml

[0092] Carbon content: 81 wt %

[0093] Sliver content: 0.03 wt %

[0094] The activated carbon fibers is tested by aforesaid tests and its properties are:

[0095] For pseudomonas aeruginosa, the filtering property is 93% and the antibacterial property is 100%.

EXAMPLE 4

[0096] Material: same as the material of Example 1

[0097] Method of Fabrication:

[0098] a) Impregnation in Silver Acetate Solution:

[0099] The activated carbon fibers, under a vacuum condition, are impregnated in a silver acetate solution with a concentration of 0.001 mol/L and a pH value of 6.4 for five hours to deposit the silver on the surfaces of the activated carbon fibers via chemical reaction. And then, the activated carbon fibers are dried to remove water.

[0100] b) High Temperature Degration Process:

[0101] Heat the activated carbon fibers in a stove filled with nitrogen under 400° C. for 90 minutes. The silver on the activated carbon fibers is broken into very fine grains.

[0102] After the processes, the properties of the activated carbon fibers are listed hereunder:

[0103] BET specific surface area: 1500 m2/g

[0104] Density: 2.05 g/ml

[0105] Carbon content: 80 wt %

[0106] Sliver content: 0.53 wt %

[0107] The activated carbon fibers is tested by aforesaid tests and its properties are:

[0108] For E. coli, the filtering property is 100% and the antibacterial property is 100%.

[0109] For pseudomonas aeruginosa, the filtering property is 100% and the antibacterial property is 100%.

EXAMPLE 5

[0110] Material: same as the material of Example 1

[0111] Method of Fabrication:

[0112] a) Impregnation in Silver Acetate Solution:

[0113] The activated carbon fibers are, under a vacuum condition, impregnated in a silver acetate solution with a concentration of 0.001 mol/L and a pH value of 6.4 for five hours to deposit the silver on the surfaces of the activated carbon fibers via chemical reaction. And then, the activated carbon fibers are dried to remove water.

[0114] b) High Temperature Degration Process:

[0115] Heat the activated carbon fibers in a stove filled with nitrogen under 400° C. for 90 minutes. The silver on the activated carbon fibers is broken into very fine grains.

[0116] c) Washing Process:

[0117] Wash the activated carbon fibers in a flow of water (flow rate: 4.5 L/min) for one day to remove redundant sliver from the surfaces of the activated carbon fibers. And then, dry the activated carbon fibers with silver to complete the product of the activated carbon fibers supporting silver.

[0118] After the processes, the properties of the activated carbon fibers are listed hereunder:

[0119] BET specific surface area: 1520 m²/g

[0120] Density: 2.05 g/ml

[0121] Carbon content: 82 wt %

[0122] Sliver content: 0.23 wt %

[0123] The activated carbon fibers is tested by aforesaid tests and its properties are:

[0124] For E. coli, the filtering property is 82% and the antibacterial property is 100%.

EXAMPLE 6

[0125] Material: same as the material of Example 1

[0126] Method of fabrication: same as the method of Example 5, except that the washing time is prolonged to ten days.

[0127] After the processes, the properties of the activated carbon fibers are listed hereunder:

[0128] BET specific surface area: 1520 m²/g

[0129] Density: 2.08 g/ml

[0130] Carbon content: 83 wt %

[0131] Sliver content: 0.075 wt %

[0132] The activated carbon fibers is tested by aforesaid tests and its properties are:

[0133] For pseudomonas aeruginosa, the filtering property is 100% and the antibacterial property is 100%.

EXAMPLE 7

[0134] Material: PAN-based activated carbon fibers felt.

[0135] Properties:

[0136] Weight: 100 g/m²

[0137] BET specific surface area: 600 m²/g

[0138] Density: 1.9320 g/ml

[0139] Carbon content: 86 wt %

[0140] Sliver content: 0 wt %

[0141] Method of Fabrication:

[0142] a) Impregnation in Silver Acetate Solution:

[0143] The activated carbon fibers, under a vacuum condition, are impregnated in a silver acetate solution with a concentration of 0.001 mol/L and a pH value of 6.4 for five hours to deposit the silver on the surfaces of the activated carbon fibers via chemical reaction. And then, the activated carbon fibers are dried to remove water.

[0144] b) High Temperature Degration Process:

[0145] Heat the activated carbon fibers in a stove filled with nitrogen under 400° C. for 90 minutes. The silver on the activated carbon fibers is broken into very fine grains.

[0146] c) Washing Process:

[0147] Wash the activated carbon fibers in a flow of water (flow rate: 4.5 L/min) for three days to remove redundant sliver from the surfaces of the activated carbon fibers. And then, dry the activated carbon fibers with silver to complete the product of the activated carbon fibers supporting silver.

[0148] After the processes, the properties of the activated carbon fibers are listed hereunder:

[0149] Weight: 100 g/m²

[0150] BET specific surface area: 580 m²/g

[0151] Density: 1.9425 g/ml

[0152] Carbon content: 73 wt %

[0153] Sliver content: 0.075 wt %

[0154] The activated carbon fibers is tested by aforesaid tests and its properties are:

[0155] For E. coli, the filtering property is 82% and the antibacterial property is 100%.

[0156] Test unit: China Textile Institute; method: US antibacterial test procedure AATTCC 100-1998. The properties of the activated carbon fibers of the present example are:

[0157] For staphylococcus aureaus (ATCC 6538P), the antibacterial property is over 99.98%.

[0158] For Klebisella pneumoniae (ATCC 4352), the antibacterial property is over 99.98%.

EXAMPLE 8

[0159] Material: phenolic activated carbon fibers felt

[0160] Properties:

[0161] Weight: 100 g/m²

[0162] BET specific surface area: 1420 m²/g

[0163] Density: 2.0320 g/ml

[0164] Carbon content: 85 wt %

[0165] Sliver content: 0 wt %

[0166] Method of Fabrication:

[0167] a) Impregnation in Silver Acetate Solution:

[0168] The activated carbon fibers, under a vacuum condition, are impregnated in a silver acetate solution with a concentration of 0.001 mol/L and a pH value of 6.4 for five hours to deposit the silver on the surfaces of the activated carbon fibers via chemical reaction. And then, the activated carbon fibers are dried to remove water.

[0169] b) High Temperature Degration Process:

[0170] Heat the activated carbon fibers in a stove filled with nitrogen under 400° C. for 90 minutes. The silver on the activated carbon fibers is broken into very fine grains.

[0171] c) Washing Process:

[0172] Wash the activated carbon fibers in a flow of water (flow rate: 4.5 L/min) for three days to remove redundant sliver from the surfaces of the activated carbon fibers. And then, dry the activated carbon fibers with silver to complete the product of the activated carbon fibers supporting silver.

[0173] After the processes, the properties of the activated carbon fibers are listed hereunder:

[0174] Weight: 100 g/m²

[0175] BET specific surface area: 1380 m²/g

[0176] Density: 2.0425 g/ml

[0177] Carbon content: 75 wt %

[0178] Sliver content: 0.072 wt %

[0179] Test its filtering property and antibacterial property for the E. coli by the procedure NIEA E202.51B of Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration, the filtering property is 99.99% and the antibacterial property is 100%.

COMPARED EXAMPLE 1

[0180] Material: Polyacrylonitrile activated carbon fibers cloth

[0181] Properties:

[0182] Weight: 70 g/m², density of knit: 16 tows per inch

[0183] BET specific surface area: 1630 m²/g

[0184] Density: 2.09 g/ml

[0185] Carbon content: 85 wt %

[0186] Sliver content: 0 wt %

[0187] For E. coli, the filtering property is 35% and the antibacterial property is 0%.

[0188] For pseudomonas aeruginosa, the filtering property is 87% and the antibacterial property is 0%.

[0189] For Klebisella pneumoniae (ATCC 4352), the antibacterial property is 0%. (Test unit: China Textile Institute; method: US antibacterial test procedure AATTCC 100-1998)

COMPARED EXAMPLE 2

[0190] Material: Polyacrylonitrile activated carbon fibers cloth

[0191] Properties:

[0192] Weight: 100 g/m²

[0193] BET specific surface area: 600 m²/g

[0194] Density: 1.9320 g/ml

[0195] Carbon content: 86 wt %

[0196] Sliver content: 0 wt %

[0197] The antibacterial property for staphylococcus aureaus (ATCC 6538P) is over 68.11% and for Klebisella pneumoniae (ATCC 4352) is 0%.

[0198] Table 1 to Table 4 show the antibacterial properties of various activated carbon fiber products for E. coli, pseudomonas aeruginosa, staphylococcus aureaus and Klebisella pneumoniae. For the activated carbon fiber supporting silver, the reduction of bacteria has a part thereof, which E. coli and pseudomonas aeruginosa are adsorbed by the pores of the fibers while filtering and another part thereof, which E. coli and pseudomonas aeruginosa are killed by the silver ions or very fine grains of silver while filtering. Therefore, the filtering property and antibacterial property of E. coli, pseudomonas aeruginosa, staphylococcus aureaus and Klebisella pneumoniae is relative to the BET specific surface area of the fibers and the silver content. TABLE 1 antibacterial property tests for E. coli CCRC 14895 Pre-filtered Filtered solution Washed solution Examples solution (CFL/mL) (CFL/mL) (CFL/mL) Example 1 4.8 × 10⁶ 0 0 Example 2 7.6 × 10⁵ 1.4 × 10⁵ 0 Example 4* 1.9 × 10³ 0 0 Example 5 1.6 × 10⁵ 2.1 × 10⁴ 0 Compared 4.8 × 10⁶ 3.1 × 10⁶ 9.7 × 10⁶ example 1

[0199] TABLE 2 antibacterial property tests for pseudomonas aeruginosa 11846 Pre-filtered Filtered solution Washed solution Examples solution (CFL/mL) (CFL/mL) (CFL/mL) Example 1 1.2 × 10⁷ 1.0 × 10² <1 Example 2 1.9 × 10⁷ 1.4 × 10⁶ 2.6 × 10² Example 4* 9.2 × 10⁶ 61   0 Example 5 3.1 × 10⁷ 1.4 × 10⁴   0 Compared 1.2 × 10⁷ 1.1 × 10⁷ 1.4 × 10³ example 1

[0200] TABLE 3 comparison of antibacterial properties E. coli pseudomonas aeruginosa Filtering antibacterial Filtering antibacterial property property property property Example 1 100% 100% 100% 100% Example 2  82% 100% — — Example 3 — —  93% 100% Example 4 100% 100% 100% 100% Example 5 100% 100% — — Example 6 — — 100% 100% Compared example  35% 0  8% 100% 1

[0201] TABLE 4 Results of antibacterial property tested by China Textile Institute Result comparison Items Example 7 Compared example 2 procedure staphylococcus Initial bacteria (B) 1.13 × 10⁵   1.13 × 10⁵ AATTCC aureaus Cultured bacteria (A) <20   3.94 × 10⁴ 100-1998 (ATCC 6538P) Reduction ratio (R) >99.8% 68.11% Klebisella Initial bacteria (B) 1.16 × 10⁵   1.16 × 10⁵ AATTCC pneumoniae Cultured bacteria (A) <20 >6.00 × 10⁵ 100-1998 (ATCC 4352) Reduction ratio (R) >99.8% <0

[0202]FIG. 2 to FIG. 5 show the enlarged views of the activated carbon fibers with/without silver under the scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The activated carbon fibers are impregnated in the solutions of E. coli and pseudomonas aeruginosa for 30 minutes. The fibers are fixed and dehydrated before they are put under the SEM. The pictures are enlarged for 5000 times.

[0203]FIG. 2 shows E. coli and pseudomonas aeruginosa adsorbed on the conventional activated carbon fibers in a multi-layer condition. As shown in FIG. 3, these bacteria are adsorbed on the fibers via the fine tissues thereof. The E. coli are connected to the pseudomonas aeruginosa via the attraction therebetween. There are few documents that discuss how the microorganisms adsorbed on the activated carbon fibers. A hypothesis is that the nutrient medium of the microorganism is related to the adsorption of the activated carbon fiber. The microorganisms need nutrient medium and they are growing well around the activated carbon fibers. That is why there are bacteria accumulated on the activated carbon and activated carbon fiber.

[0204]FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are the pictures of the activated carbon fiber supporting silver of the present invention, in which it is hard to find E. coli and pseudomonas aeruginosa adsorbed thereon. FIG. 4 is the product of Example 4 and FIG. 5 is the product of Example 6. In FIG. 5, it is hard to find a complete bacterium on the fibers. If do, the bacteria are deformed and some of them are depressed. It should be the silver ions on the fibers destroying the bacteria. The sample is fixed and dehydrated prior to put on the SEM, so that the bacteria are dead at that time and the dead bacteria will flow to the fixing solution and the dehydrating solution (alcohol). As a result, it is hard to find on the fibers. If do, they are depressed or broken bacteria.

[0205] According to the tests, it will find the product of activated carbon fiber supporting silver of the present invention having the filtering property and the antibacterial property better than the conventional activated carbon fiber product. The antibacterial property, after sufficient washing, is still kept at 100%. The conventional product has a poor filtering property to E. coli and pseudomonas aeruginosa and it also has a poor filtering property to staphylococcus aureaus and Klebisella pneumoniae, as shown in Table 4. All the tests indicate that the filtering property and the antibacterial property the product of activated carbon fiber supporting silver of the present invention are superior to the conventional activated carbon fiber product.

[0206] In conclusion, the present invention provides the activated carbon fibers impregnated in the silver acetate solution under the vacuum condition for a predetermined period to deposit silver on the fibers. The activated carbon fibers are processed for high temperature degration to break the silver into very fine grains. And then, the activated carbon fibers are washed to remove the redundant silver. The product of the activated carbon fiber supporting silver can adsorb bacteria via the activated carbon fibers and kill the bacteria via silver to achieve the antibacterial objective of the present invention.

[0207] In the specification of the present invention, we only provide a few of preferred embodiments. The scope of the present invention should not be restricted in the preferred embodiment. Any equivalent designation should be still in the scope of the present invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of fabricating a product of activated carbon fiber supporting silver, comprising the steps of: a) impregnation process: impregnating activated carbon fibers in a silver acetate solution under a vacuum condition for 1 minute to 720 minutes to deposit silver on surfaces of the activated carbon fibers via a chemical reaction, and then, drying the activated carbon fibers to remove water therein; b) high temperature degration process: heating the activated carbon fibers in a stove under 120° C. to 450° C. for 5 minutes to 120 minutes to break the silver on the activated carbon fibers into very fine grains, and c) washing process: Washing the activated carbon fibers for 1 minute to 600 hours to remove redundant sliver from the surfaces of the activated carbon fibers.
 2. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the silver acetate solution has a concentration in a range between 0.001 mol/L and 10 mol/L.
 3. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the activated carbon fibers are dried under 25° C. to 150° C. in the step a.
 4. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the stove is filled with a protective gas to prevent the activated carbon fibers from oxidization and ashing in the step b.
 5. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the stove has a vacuum chamber therein to prevent the activated carbon fibers from oxidization and ashing in the step b.
 6. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the activated carbon fibers has carbon of over 50% by weight and a BET specific surface area greater than 400 m²/g.
 7. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the activated carbon fibers are made from material chosen from polyacrylonitrile fibers, and phenolic fibers.
 8. The method as defined in claim 7, wherein the product is made into a cloth, a felt.
 9. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the time of the impregnation process in the step a is preferred in a range between 1 minute and 12 hours.
 10. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the impregnation process is preferred taken under a vacuum condition or under an environment filled with inert gas.
 11. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the product of the activated carbon fiber supporting silver has a density greater than 1.8 g/mL. 